Automatic playing-piano.



. A. G. GULBRANSENQ- AUTOMATIC PLAYING PIANO.

APP'LIOATION FILED DEC.11, 1906.

913,378. Patnted Feb. 23, 1909.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

% G GUlhPanSEn GM 9/ J5 N A. G. GULBRANSEN. AUToMATIMLAYmG PIANO. APPLICATION FILED DEO.11, 1906.

Patented Feb. 23, 1909.

4 SHIl-IETS-SHEJEIT 2.

A. G. GULBRANSEN. AUTOMATIc PLAYING PIANO,

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 11, 1905- Pateiltd Feb. 23,1909;

' 4 SHEETS-SHEET 4 InvEnI Elf.

EQEESI:

' tions which are of simple construction and of such relative disposition that they-may "be conveniently located wit of air exhausted from the motive device so Pianos, of which the following is a full, clear,

speed of the air motive device when the note S I this arrangement of my invention consists of apair of feeder bellows which are each however, being controlled by valves and -UNITED snares ien'rnnr cannon.

AXEL efeULBRANsEN, OF" CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR- 'roeutnmnsnn, messes" COMPANY, F CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF retracts.

Annemarie PLAYIiIe-rmno.

Specification of Letters Ii atent'.

racemes Feb. as, recs.

Application med December 11, 1906. Serial No. 347,307.

To'alF'ibhom it may concern:

Be it known that I, AXEL G. GULBRANsEN, citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have inventeda certain new and useful Improvement in Automatic Playingconcise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming'a part of this specification. My invention relates to automatic playing pianos, more particularly to im roved means or regulating and operatin t e same, and its object is to provide relia 1e and efficient apparatusesto perform their respective func be easily assembled and reached in case of necessity of adjustment or repair. It is one of the primary ob ects of my invention to provide such apparatus as may 1n the case of an ordinary siz e piano without requiring rear-" rangement or reconstruction of any of the parts of the piano itself. Furthermore, I provide'a' construction in which by a simple valve and bellows arrangement I' so regulate the flow of air from the motor and from the pneumatic action that whilea 1piece of music is being played the motor wil operateat a moderate speed, and that when itis desired to rewind the note sheet which is passed over the tracker-board the valves may be so actuated as to close communication between the air exhaust devices and the neumatic action and to materially increase t e amount as to correspondingly increase its speed. I amaware'that this feature of increasing the eet is being rewound is known in the art, but the construction of my invention herein described is such that the exhaust of air throughthe motive device is controlled in an entirely new and novel manner. Broadly connected to. two reservoirs, one of said reservoirs being connected with the pneumatic action, while the other is connected with the motive device, these connections,'

controlling mechanism, as will be hereinafter described. l/Vhile a no to sheet is being drawn over the tracker board in its forward 1 note sheet is rewo'un'd valve mechanism operated to cut' oif connection between the pneumaticaction and its associated r'se'fvoir and at the same time other valve Insetanism is actuated whereby both of said reservoirs are connected with theimotiye device. This, of course, greatl the amount of air exhausted t motive device and its s greatly increased. It 1' appear herein after that this valve and controlling menianism is very simple and eihcient and reliable in operation and does not easily becqmedis arranged or disordered. These valves are so disposed that they may be easily'reached' and adjusted when necessary.

I provide, furthermore, improved means whereby the valves may be actuated by the operator at the front of the piano, this means being of such construction that it will be hidden from view when the automatic laying mechanism is not in use andmay' quickly and readily be brouglitinto position for ac'tu ation when the automatic playing mechanism is employed. 1

It is one of the important features of this invention that with the construction above described, that is, the feature of havin 'eaehf' of the feeder bellows connected with both" reservoirs, the tendency for reservoirs to act in a jerky and unreliable manner entirely eliminated, there being, as will be herein after described, a practically steady exhaust therefrom, there being at no time a complete cessation of theexhaust; I

Improved means is also hereinafter dis-- closed for actuating the piano pedal mechanism, which, as is well known, are for the purpose of securing a loud Orsoft tone. This improved means is such that it may be actuated by the knee of the operator when in th ee'd' 1s thereforeposition for operating with. the feeder bellows.

increases the pedals coimec'ted I The other improved arrangements wars:

hereinafter pointed out, these Variouscon structions being clearly illustrated iii the; A

accompaj" ying drawings in which r setuating the loud and Q is a. view illustrating the i loved so that the regune valve mechanism may he v hen nor in use; Fig. de oil the loud. and soft pedal renisln; and Fig. l1 a iustreting; the mode of conrlr conductor to the p'i'rqunnrlie once c are applied to & sent the various figures.

case ioivn it 12 and vctlo'n sur 'iorting lrznne indicure mounted therein the being associated with the the -piano action. The I does not constitute 9. part on on and may be of any desired instance like that disclosed ending applications, Se- .lieiiruery 19, 1906, Se- August 20, 1906,01 Se e1nherl2,l906. A

1 ed Sen I v n connected with n. loans of the air 'lh' ollers 16".nid l7 with the niohve de nnrnner, this motive by means of the air ejihsnst device, as will The bellows board ns exhaust devhe's niIW connecting chain formed, is shown at old in the instrument erases 28 are the bell crenlr levers 25, 25. The arm 26 oleseh bell orenlc lever is connected by means of a link?! with a pivot picro 12S rigidlv scoured to the movable member ol the asso iziotod. feeder bellows. The other :1 H11 29 of the bell crank lever is adopted to be connected with the associated trundle 22% by means of n, flexible connecting n'icinber Iii). The l'ecdor hollows 122 is norniiellv held in at collzrpsed posi Won by means of it helical spring 31 which is connected between the lrrnne l3 and the extension 32 on the itl'lll 26. This helical spring is so conneeted relative to the pivot 33 of the bell crank lever that there is very little increase ol' tension when the treedles are actuated to dislond the hollows. l find that n convenient way in hirh to socure the bellows board in tho inslrumom case is to om lloy thumb screws 134, Ill hich have threaded engagement with the frame .23 end which 'nniy be adjusted so as to rigidly engage the under side of the piano be l, therelrv holding the bellows board rigidly in. position when the bottom of the bellows board is mounted upon blocks in the base oi the piano or in any other suitable nninnor. Associated with the .l'eeder bellows are the reserv and 36, each feeder bellows being connected with bot-h of seid reservoirs. Thus the l'oeder bellows 21 is oonneotod with the reservoir 35 b v means of a clninnd $57 and. with the reservoir 36 by means of e. channel 38. Similarly the feeder bellows is coni'iocted with the reservoir 3.3 by nieirns of n chnnnel 39 end with the reservoir 36 by means of e channel 40. These channels, however, ore controlled by moons of the lien vzrlvos 1'1 and t2 Within the bellows 2i and Z2 respective The movable members oi the feeder bellows provided with the openings 43, which are governed by e lisp valve ll Thus while the trezrdles are being actuated both feeder bellows are exhausting air from both of the reservoirs, tending to eollspse them. Each of the reservoirs, however, is provided with e tint spring which tends to hold the bellows in distended position and thus s. constant and steady exhaust of air is mode from the pneumatic devices connected t'ierevv'it e e of the reservoi. tending to coll-e; it, I at the next moment this cx'in-rust d and the bellows d' ended itself. This undesirable to Cure 1s entirely elimitee, before started each of the lOWS is eonneclerhwith both reser; course, the usual practice t8 operate the treadles alternately and the feeder bellows are then consequentlyoper- .ated in a similar manner. Thus when one feeder bellows has ceased exhausting air from both reservoirs, the'other feeder bellows immediately commences to exhaust air therefrom. Thereis therefore a constant exhaust from both the reservoirs which in turn overcomes anytendency for the exhaust from the pneumatic devices connected therewith tb be other .than constant and steady andof' proper speed. 4 The reservoirs are each provided with a safety valve 46 the purpose of which is evils dent? ,Mounted upon the bellows board conveniently near the reservoir, whichis adapted to be connected with the pneumatic action,

, .is the valve box 47 into which a channel 48 1 in the bellows board leads from the reservoir 24? .36. The channel 48 is controlled by a valve 49 disposed within the valve box 47, this valve, as will be hereinafter described, being ulation of mechanism providedat the front of the iano. The valve box 47 is connected with t e pneumatic action by means of an air conductor 50, this conductor being seowed to the exhaust chamber board of thegneumatic action in themanner shown in ig. 11. The exhaust chamber is-mdicated at 5.1 and is formed by means of the boards .52, 53 and 54. The board 52 is provided with anopening 55 roximate to which is disposed an-foutlet 1ece- 56in the form of an elbow." A tie re 57 is rigidly secured to the outlet piece 56 and is screw-threaded at its outer end where it passes through the board 54 and is engaged by the winged nut 58.; A-washer 59 of leather or similar material may be provided and when the winged nut 58 is tightened to draw the tie rod an eflicient air-tight connection is secured.

The various primary pncumatics are connected, in the manner described in the vabe shown specifically here. It is, however, desirable to gain access to the chamber 51 without interfering with the other parts of the apparatus and I therefore split the .front board 54 at 60, as indicated in Fig. 1,

' so that all the front board except that portion to whiclrthe outlet piece is secured may "be readily removed. A bridge 61, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, may be provided so'that an air-tight connection may be insured. V

Leading from the channel 37 is a channel 62 which connects with the regulating bellows 63 conveniently disposed as shown upon the bellows board. The regulating bellows 63 is for the purpose vof maintaining a conv,;stantspee l of the air motive device with which it is connected. An opening 64 in an 65 extension 65 from the bellowsboard directly adapted to be actuated by the proper manip-" rlous copending applications herein referred to, to the exhaust chamber 51 and need not movable member of the regulating bellows,

and is so disposedthat when the bellows is collapsed it will cover the opcning where the channel 62 leads into the bellows. An annular washer 68 is disposed about this opening, this washer being of leather or similar material. Thus when air is exhausted from the motive device therethrough by reason of the action of thereservoir 35, the block 67 will tend to engage the washer 68 so as to close the entrance of the channel 62. Air, however, is permitted to pass because the. suction is not enmigh to entirely 'close the openin but it is 'evident that this 'opening wil be more oi'lcss closed according to the strength of the exhaust therethrough.

Thus, the stronger the exhaust the closer will the block 67 be drawn against the washer 68 and the smaller the opening through which air may pass. When the strength of the exhaust is decreased the block 67 will drop back correspondingly and will allow a greater volume of air to pass.

The size of the opening and the'strength of the exhaust,.therefore, being inversely proportional, will tend to keep constant the amount of air exhausted through the motive device and thespee'd of the motor, therefore,

will remain constant. In order that the minimum passageway for the exhaust through the regulating bellows may be adjusted, a screw 69 is provided and asses through the board 65 and into the regu ating bellows where it isprovided with a contact block 76. This contact block is adapted to engage the movable membep of the regulating bellows when the bellows is in a collapsed condition and is adapted .to be so adjusted that the proper amount of air may pass through the bellows at 'this time. 'A spring 71 is provided to keep the regulating bellows normally distended.

It is desirable, as hereinbefore mentioned, I

to materially increase the-speed of the motive device when the note sheet is being rewound. i To this end I provide means it here'- by upon/the actuation of a lever terminating at the front of the piano the amount of air exhausted. through the 'air motor will be greatl increased. The reservoir 36 is cannecte with the valve box 66 by way of the channel 7 2, this channel, however, being controlled by a valve 73 disposed within the valve box 66. While the piece of music is being played the valve 73 is closed so as to shut off oommmcation between the reservoir 36 and the air motive device, this reservoir, however, being connected with the' pneun'iaticaction. .An auxiliary channel 74 closed.

directly connects the reservoir 35 with the valve box 66-, this channel being also under the control of the valve 73. Thus, when thevalve 73 is open thc reservoir 35 is connected directly with the valve box 66 instead of through the regulating bellows 63. A very much greater amount of air is thereby drawn through the mot-or. As will be hereinafter described means are provided tor simultaneously closing the valve 73 and opening the valve 49. /l'hen the piece of musicis being played the valve 73 is closed and the valve l9 open. The I'OSBIVOll 35 is then connected w ith the air motive device through the regulating bellows (33%, while the r 'JQI'YUH 36 is connected to the pneumatic action,

thus actuating the playingmechanism and operating the motive device at a constant speed. When it is desired to-rewind the note sheet a lever, hereinafter described, is actuated by the operator of the instrument to reverse the valves, that is, to open the virlvo 73 cnd 'tc close the valve 49. When the valves src in this position, as hcreinbcfore stated, the reservoir 35 is connected directly to the valve b0 66, tlie'reservoir 36 also 'cennected thereto and discon nectcd from the pneumatic action. Both of the reservoirs being then directly connected the air motive device, the amount of air drawn thcrethrou h will be considerably greater than that rawn therethrough when the vslves were in their reverse positions and the speed of the motor is correspondingly increased.

In order that the valves '73 and 49 may be properly controlledby the operator so as to secure the desirable results hereinbeiore clescribec, means lire provided whereby these valves are so mechanically connected togather thst upon the opening of one of the valves the other will sinii'lltancously be Associated with the valve 49 is the crank rod 75 which has the crank arms 7c he crank 76 engages in the bifurcc-tsd end or an extension 77 (in the valve 49. Similarly, the vulva 73 hes associated with it a crank rod 78 which has the crank arms P I i o Z9 sndgtl, tliscranli arm 79 licin tm engage Y open and the valve s9 will close, and

when shifted in the reverse direction the valve 49 will open and valve" 73 will close. The actuating rod 81 is provided with the ed lustcble collars 82' and 83 between which iich extends downwardly from is adapted to engage.

8, is pivoted at 86 and is provided at its forward end with the handle 87 which, as will be described, is collapsible or foldin so that it may be hidden from view when t e automctic playing mechanism is not in use and may be placed in position where it can be actuated when the playing mechanism is employed. The lever 85 rests in the guide 525 secured to the under side of the piano bed. i suitably pivoted rod 89, the upper end of which is connected by crank and link mechvided at its lower end with the crank 92 which is connected by means of the link 93 to the pivot pin 94 on the actuating lever 85. Thus the movement of the actuating lever controls the'moto: valve 91 and further con- 'necting means 95 may be employed for actub0): 14 whereby the speed of the motocand the direction of its rotation may be clearly indicated.

While a piece of music is being played the lever handlcfi'? may be in one of its extreme positions, lor instance the left-hand position, as indicated in the drawings. The various levers and cranksiwhich it controls are then in position to cause the proper direction of rotation of thc motive device andto have'the valve 91 in position to allow the minimum ilow of air, and its connection with the actuating rod 81 by way of the fork 84 and the collars 82 and 83 is such that the valve 73 tlicnclosed while the valve 49 is opened. As before described, these valves are then in position to allow the operation of the pneumatic laying mechanism and the operation of tie motive device main.- tains the nioto iat a constant speed. As is well. known in the art, however, it is desirable to regulate the motor valve 91 while the piece olmusic is being played so as to secure the proper and most effective speed. This adjustmentol' the motor valve must, it is evident, be accomplished without changing the positions of the valves 49 and 73, and in lars 82 and 83 are s acedso as to permit the movement of the llEVEl 85 to actuate the valve 91 from its minimum to its maximum position with ut the engagement of the fork 84- with either collar.

When it is desirable to rewind the notc treme opposite position from that just described, the latter part of this movement causing, as will be ointed out, the reversal of the direction ol the motive device and the reversal of the position of the valves 49 and 7-3 When the lever is shifted to the: right (Fig. l) the latter part of the motion causes, by reason of the pro er adjustment oi the collars 82' and 83 wit reference to the for 84, a sufficient movement 'l'orthe openingf of lever, as clearly shown the valve 73 and the closing of the valve 49,

anism ()0 with the tempo valve 91, is proating indicating mecluinism 96 in the rollerorder to secure this desirable result the col sheet the lever 85 is thrown over to itS eX-,

elapsed is greatly increased,

' two positions.

. is connected therew it lever 101. 1 t5 the instrument frame in any suitable manthis latter movement causing also the reversal of the gearing at the motivedevice to reverse its direction. ,Thus, the direction of the motor is changed and its connection belaveen the reservoir 36 and the pneumatic J playing mechanism being also cut oil. The

I "note sheet may, thereiora'be rewound very rapidly, the at rest.

instrument to playing another piece of music the lever is again thrown over to its exneumatic action then remaining en it is desired to again start the tremeleft-hand position, the latter part of this movement causing the movement of the actuating rod 81 by reason of the engagement with the collar 83 by the fork 84, thus closin the valve 73 and opening the valve onsidering again the effect of the lever 85 u onthe actuating rod 81, it should be note that when the rod is in either position 0 the movement of the lever 85 in the direction tending to bring the rod 81 into the opposite position, does not affect the rod 81 until near the end of the movement, the remainiug motion, however, being sufiieient to secure the roper operation of the valves 49 and 73. e motion of the lever 85, which is lost to the actuating rod 81, secures the manipulation of the motor valve .91 whereby its s eed may be properly regulated.

T e construction of a collapsible handle is I shown in Fi 9, the various parts being lettered according similar parts in the other fi ures.

' handle 87 is pivoted at to t to the letters applied to The e lever 85 and a spring 96 is'secured to and held in posi'tion upon the lever 85 by means of the studs 1971" The handle 87 has the flat surfaces QS-and 99, and the. spring 96 is adapted to bear upon either one of these surfaces so as to sechrely hold the handle 87 in either: of Thus, when the handle 87 is adapted to be actuated, that is, while the playing mechanism is in use, it extends for wardlyso that it may be reached by the operation and is held in such osi tion by the srmgfi 6'- bearing upon t e surface 98. '.en"i is desired to hide the handle 87 from view it is turned about the pivot 95 against'the drag'of the spring 96 until it reaches the position where the spring 96 will bear upon the surface 99, this position bein indicated in dotted lines in this fi ure.

The handle 87 is thus held in this position precisely as it was'held in its other position, as has been described.

in order that the operator may roperly operate the loud and soft pedals of t e piano .while he is actuating the treadle mechanism, auxiliary means, s shown in Figs. 1, 8 and I 10, is-provided;

select the pedals has assooiatedwithit a reel rocating rod;l;( 0 which hby means of a pivoted This lever is pivoted at 102?;to

simultaneously-- ner and is pivotally connected with the rod ortion 104 of the pedal. The other end 0 e reciprocat ing rod is pivoted at 105 to a crank arm 106 of the pivoted, rod 107, this mounted in blocks 108, 108 secured to the under side of the piano bed. The forward endof the pivoted rod 107 is provided with the crank member 109, this member bein so disposed that it may be actuated by the knee of the operator While the treadle mechanism is in use. It is evident from the various figures that when the crank member 109 is thrown over in the direction of the arrow 110 the reciprocating rod 100 will be lifted to cause corresponding movement of the lever 101, thereby depressing the pedal piece 104 in precisely the same manner as is usual inthe operation of ordinar pianos.

In order that the crank mem er 109 may be out of view when the playing mechanism is in use the means particularly shown in Fig. 10 is rovided. The hub portion 111 from whic the member 109 extends is rotatably mounted upon the pivoted rod 107. The hub 111 is provided with a slot 112 into. which a stud or pin 113, extending from the rod 107 projects. This slot 112 is so formed and disposed that when it is desired to remove the members 109 from view they may be lifted andmoved rearwardly, being thus held in position hy reason of the enga ement' of the pin 113 with the end 114 of t e slot 112; The member 109 may be thus hidden beneath the piano bed. When it is desired to bring this mechanism into use the mem-- I thus provide efiicient means whereby the" music may be regtispeed and tone of the lated while the-pedal mechanism is being actuated.

The exhausting devices herein disclosed are such as to secure efiicient and reliable operation of the various arts and the controlling mechanism descrih ed and so associated therewith that the various desirable features hereinbefore pointed out areeasily and readily obtained.

While I have herein shown and described.

but one embodiment of my invention, it is evidentv that changes and modifications could-t; made bythose skilled in the art withou departing from the spirit or scope thereof. I do notwhh, therefore, to be'limited to] the preciseconstruction herein set forth;

rod being On aeed is so construct- I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Potent:

1. In an automatic playing instrurncnt, the combination of a motor, c reservoir for connection with the motor, pnennnrtic mechanism, a second reservoir for connection with the )ncumntic mechanism, a valve controlling the connection of said second rcscrvoir with the pneumatic mechanism, a, connection between rho second reservoir and the motor, a second valve'controllim snid-connection to the motor; a liompo valve at the motor for directly controlling the exhaust from the motor, and common lever mechconnection lo tho motor, a tempo valve at the motor lor tlll'llLlY oonln lhn g tho exhaust from tho motor, common drumming; nwclnmism conncctod with all time \nlu's for controlling rho opomlion thou-of, and means whereby tho tnxnpo YlLlYu may hr :nljnslml by the common act-noting; mechanism incle pendently of the on or wolves.

3. In an anionic the combination of n .znolor, in ing mechanism, a reservoir, ling the connection of said. ir with tln motor, zisecond reso 'oir, (Hill sivc controlling; the connection of said soconrl crvoir with pneumatic n'iochunis temno valve at the molor, and common meononism (OllllCCllIl with all (hroc for controlling llm operation thereof.

4. in an anlonmlic playing in rnmonh, the combination of :2 motor, pneumatic pl; ing mechanism, 11 rcsclwoir, a valve con ling the connoolion of said oir with 1 motor, a socoml reservoir, 11 sow vlilw controlling commotion of soul svwlnl reservoir with l'ho pncnnmlic mor-mmism, o. tempo Volvo 211 tho motor, a -ommon n l'nn lin; member for Sillti Vnl'vos :mil moons v hrrvby tho tempo 'Yulvo may ho ml}, ncluatin lj momhor in lcnonlonl and sccoml wolves.

ln \Yilmss \vhorooi, l hornnnio snhs I my name this 5th (is; of llo r-oil'm' A. l) 1906. 

